As some of you have noticed in the past months many of your favorite artists have recently added a SNOCAP digital storefront to their Myspace page. CD Baby, who also feature about 130,000 indie artists, has announced a partnership with MySpace that will allow all registered users easy access to create a SNOCAP digital storefront, according to cmj.com.
The SNOCAP MyStore is a backed by their very own online content registry. MyStore launched in December as a way for unsigned/indie artists to sell their music on MySpace without a distribution deal, label, or PR team, and can be posted on any site that recognizes HTML code. Now CD Baby artists will be able to sell content directly to fans from any site that allows HTML (websites, blogs, etc.).
I think it's about time you start digging through those old home recordings of you and your buddies electric shaver-meets-drums machine techno project.
Ken Andrews
Secrets of the Lost Satellite
2007 | Dinosaur Fight
I
completely missed the heyday of Failure in the mid-nineties. My
knowledge of Ken Andrews stems from the viewpoint of someone
discovering a band after they were somewhat successful. So even though
I’ve become very familiar with their music I still feel like I missed
something that should have been so obvious to me. That always bothered
me.
Thanks to Failure’s awesome Fantastic Planet, and
being a longtime fan of Autolux, I made it a point to review Ken's
album. He's also intriguing because of all the impressive studio work
he's handled over the years, mixing and producing top-notch
musicians/bands. On Secrets of the Lost Satellite he takes
those skills and runs with them. Justin Meldal-Johnsen and Jordan
Zadorozny, who also have their own laundry list of accomplishments,
help out in the process.
The first song “Allergic” is deceptive
with its brooding intro and verse. When the chorus comes in it’s a
little over-the-top and breathy, but it works because the sound remains
heavy. The almost “ambient” bridge towards the end crosses paths with
80’s pop, almost sounds like Muse. “Up or Down” is another heavy rock
anthem with marching piano notes, this sounds like something he could
write easily on any day. Things change and progress on “Secret Things”
with an attitude in the chord progression that's reminiscent of Tool.
So far I’m really getting into this record.
“What It’s Like” and
“Does Anybody Know” hit the same nerve as the opener, I think this is
where Andrews is at his best. When it comes to stringing together odd
choices of chords he's on, also carefully avoiding an obvious prog-rock
montage by laying low on the waves of keyboards. “The 23rd Boy” starts
off with a siren as the metronome then scores when the singular strums
of guitar come in, my favorite moment on the entire album.
It’s
hard to tell where Andrews is going on this record other than
showcasing his experience and talent as a dynamite musician. But it
sounds so crystal clear and thought-out that I couldn’t stop listening.
He obviously spent a great deal of time with the arrangements, they’re
very crisp. Ken Andrews follows Failure and Year of the Rabbit closely
in mood, only it feels matured and ripened, like all the production
work he’s done over the years has given him so much influence and
inspiration.
Land of Talk
Applause, Cheer, Boo, Hiss
2007 | Rebel Group
There’s something great about a band that immediately sounds like Sebadoh and Bettie Serveert with the immediacy of The Pretenders, or at least the idea of those bands squashed together. Montreal’s Land of Talk fit that description on Applause, Cheer, Boo, Hiss--their debut 7-track EP. It's labeled as an "EP" actually plays out with the cohesion of a full-length. The overall product is a healthy combination of fluttery-dizzy vocals, dynamite guitar tones, and arrangements that stop and turn on a dime. Ahhhhhhh.
Songs like “Breaxxbaxx”, “All My Friends”, and “Speak to Me Bones” kill me. They twist and turn with such clever guitar chops and busy drum fills. Singer/songwriter Elizabeth Powell always manages to sound relaxed and almost drunk while churning out awesome quick chord progressions and melodies. According to her bio she’s been “banging out anti-folk basement rock since she was 14.” It definitely shows.
According to Billboard.com, The UK's Sanctuary Records Group is closing shop on all operations in the United States and focusing only on catalog releases, just like V2. Operations cease as of June 30th. The first possible casualty could very well be Ex-Cranberries siren, and self-proclaimed zombie, Dolores O'Riordan's first solo album. Are You Listening? is supposedly still coming out on May 15th, what a bad way to start your solo career.
The Sanctuary Records Group also includes several smaller labels such as Morissey's Attack, Castle, Trojan, Vapor, and Fantastic Plastic related labels. Record labels? Sounds like a condom catalog.
Frankel
Lullaby for the Passerby
2007 | Self-Released
Wilco, Elliott Smith, and hints of the Flaming Lips shine through on Frankel’s debut album, Lullaby for the Passerby. Michael Orendy has spent the last couple of years perfecting his acoustic driven songs by adding a palette of psychedelic effects, samples and symphonic keys that add a welcoming feel to the songs and never overtake the anchored acoustic root. The vocals and melodies are all intact, but it’s these clever flushes of sound that give the album it’s originality and spark. “Tooth Decay” is the first song that immediately catches your ear, sounding way different and darker than the acoustic guitar-driven opener “Thermostat.” This kind of variety is what you can expect.
The songs continue to reveal themselves using other styles. “X Marks the Spot” and “Lullaby” are radiant with varied layers of sound. And the almost vaudeville-country vibe, if that makes sense, of “Red Part of Town” unleashes a wicked kazoo solo. “Curtain Call" is the most dense and straightforward track with big drums and synths pushing the rhythm uphill until it rolls off the cliff and into a big chorus.
Lullaby for the Passerby is going to remind you of a lot of great bands but never borrows a single lick. Frankel's songwriting holds its ground because there are so many quirky bits stapled to the melodies without ruining the feel. For an album that is label-less and so refreshing I'm dumbfounded that a city "buzzing" with mulitudes of forgettable indie-pop-folk bands hasn't discovered Frankel's obvious musical talent.
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